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Jennifer Lopez joins Harry Connick Jr. for ‘Idol’

The singer/actress will take a seat on the panel alongside Harry Connick, Jr. and Keith Urban for season 13 of the talent show.

The news comes almost a month after Lopez’s dancer boyfriend Casper Smart let it slip that she would be back on the program.

Confirming her return to Idol, Lopez told show host Ryan Seacrest, “To be honest, right now is the worst time for me to stop and do Idol… I’m doing two movies and I have my album coming out… but I’m doing it because I want to. I love it and I’ve had such a good time with it.

“When things are meant to be, they kind of just find a way back into your life… I know that people like to make a big deal about money… but I do it because I love it… I’m really excited about this year… I’m glad that they wanted me back even though I said no last year.”

And she has already found chemistry with Urban and Connick, Jr. after joining them for dinner recently.

She adds, “We’ve sat down and we had dinner and stuff… It was like a lot of people taking little jibes at each other.”

Lopez quit the show after two seasons last year and her spot was filled by Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj, who walked away from Idol in May. Urban replaced Lopez’s former sidekick Steven Tyler and announced he’d be back for season 13 of the show in July.